Costa Rica Professional Soccer / Shook Bram (Friend)Read >>
Costa Rica Professional Soccer / Shook Bram (Friend)
Javier (Justin's real estate lawyer) and I took Justin to a profession "futbol" game between Herredia and Saprissa in San Jose. This was back in about 2002 or 2003. As memory recalls... we may have had a few beers before the game. Shocker...
To set the stage... Costa Rican futbol games are known to be quite rowdy and the fans give just about everyone on the field a hard time, especially the refs. Justin was very enthusiastic and immediately bought a flag from the home team. The logical next step was to teach Justin some foul language in Spanish so he could join in with the crowd and yell at the opposing team and refs. What we didn't realize was how passionate he'd become!
You need to imagine that Justin is a good head taller than the rest of the fans... and white (we were the only white guys in the stadium! The crowd around us loved him and kept egging him on and he obliged. By the end of the game his pronunciation had improved dramatically! "Ijueputa arbitro!" (which basically means the ref is a son-of-a-female dog).
Justin, being very proud of his new ability to talk in Spanish and make the locals laugh carried his new found skill outside the stadium continuing into the parking lot and then even out the car window as we sat in traffic and then even impressed a bartender when we stopped for a post game celebratory beer. He was truly the highlight of the game not only for Javier and I, but for the entire section! I guarantee that if we could find some of those fans today, five years later, they would remember that funny gringo!
I know it is a silly story, but it was absolutely hilarious to be there and something we still talk about today. Just another example of how Justin made people laugh and was fun to be around. Close
Justin learned the phrase "I am a small cat" in over 15 languages. It was a good way to break the ice and get know people from other countries.
I Am A Small Cat English Ore was Ookina Tora da! "I Am A Big Tiger" Japanese Watashi wa chiisana neko desu Japanese Pom pen louk maew Thai Soy un gatitio Spanish Jestem kotkiem Polish Kis macska vagyok Hungarian Ich bin eine kleine katzchen German Ya yest malenka koshka Russian I am small cat eh Canadian My choti billi hoo Hindi Chinese: Wo shi yi zhi xiao mao Mandarin Wo hai ya zi xiu mou Cantonese Wo si yi zi xiao mao Sichuan Ami choto biral Ban gal
Pirate Eye Tale No: 5 "Harvest Moon Burritos" / Capitan Bob (Poppie)Read >>
Pirate Eye Tale No: 5 "Harvest Moon Burritos" / Capitan Bob (Poppie)
Pirate Eye Tale No: 5 Harvest Moon Burritos
I remember our first Harvest Moon race to Port Aransas in 2000 a beautiful 180-mile spinnaker reach down the coast of Texas, with big harvest moon all night. You could only take the helm for 30 minutes your arms and shoulders just wore out. And you’d lose the rudder until you got used to steering. As we were finishing sailing up the Port A channel a big cruise ship was coming out and we had to head away to keep from getting run over. David Wicker and Justin were out drinking with Jim Caveny, the night we got in.... When the bar closed Wicker and Justin got up off the stools, and Jim got up and fell down on the floor. Then Justin and Dave took Jim to the crappy hotel we were staying at. Then the man boys went out for some street food. Justin comes back to the room moaned, rolled over and threw up in his mouth. I say “Justin why do you drink so much”. Then he gets up and hurls all around the head in the bathroom. Well he may have hit it a little. Burritos from street vendor it looked like to me. We had a room that had only one key, the master key didn’t work. We took the key so the cleaning lady didn’t get to clean. The next night Justin and I spent the night on the boat. It was the awards banquet. We all thought we did pretty well. But they called third, second place... and we were thinking no place. But then they called Blue Norther. I still remember Justin giving me a big hug. After we won the race and had consumed mucho Rum and cokes. Well we may have drunk a little before we knew we won. Steve Taylor who was returning to Houston with us had the pleasure of a stay in the unclean room, with the hurl. He still complains about that. He shouldn't Steve is a vetnerian; I've seen him check male dogs testicles. Such is another Pirate Eye Tale
Biloxi Gamble / Steve Finlayson (Sailing Buddy )
The Biloxi Gamble I have gone on several off shore races on Captain Bob's boat the "Blue Norther", the most notable was the Galveston to Biloxi race. The offshore race was appropriately named the Biloxi Gamble as it took place during tropical storm Allison in June 2001. On board were Justin, Ray, Jim C, Wicker, Bob, Suzie and I, all full of confidence and sure that we were going to win. We were confident because we knew we were better sailors than the other crews. We could be sure of that because there were only a few other boats in the race. There were only a few boats in the race because Tropical Storm Allison was just hitting Galveston as the race started. Tropical Storm Allison was that storm that came in to Houston, hung around for a few days, dumped 20 plus inches of rain and then went back off shore following a track to Biloxi. For the first day or so of the race sailing conditions were reasonable but after that conditions were rough, raining and windy with frequent electrical storms. On the 3rd night at 4 AM off the Chandeleur Islands we twisted the jib sail around the forestay during a less than stellar jibe. For those that don't know; that means the big sail at the front got twisted around the front cable that holds up the mast. Not a good situation in the middle of the night during a thunderstorm, in 30 to 40 knot winds with rough seas, screaming downwind along the Chandleleur Islands that you can't see because it is pitch-black . Justin and I volunteered to go up to the bow and untangle the jib sail. Picture yourself crawling along 35 feet of rocking, wet, uneven fiberglass, metal and wood structure, in the dark, in heavy winds, heavy rains and in heavy seas. Bob took a quick look and called for "all hands on deck man overboard". No one had gone overboard yet but we needed people on deck in case one of us did go over the side. That call raised our personal stress level, but it was the right thing to do. Since my wife will read this I need to say that we were always connected to the boat by the harness lines, but it really doesn't give you the sense of security you hope for. Anyway that is the situation we were in at the time. We crawled along the deck and once at the bow we looked over the tangled mess that was the jib and jib sheets (lines). Straightening the sail would involve taking both sheets (lines) off the sail, normally done one at a time, getting them clear of the forestay, tying them back on the jib and then using the winch to pull the jib sail clear. In a fit of inspiration I saw a way to undo both sheets at the same time and get the jib cleared quickly. I was probably not thinking very clearly, and looking back on that night it would have been a very dangerous thing to do, the jib would have been blowing in the wind with nothing to secure it. When I suggested to Justin that we take both sheets off; he paused, kept very calm, looked over and said "Steve, I think that would be a bad idea", an amazingly calm and collected response given our situation. I immediately agreed, we then straightened the jib one sheet at a time without incident and crawled back to the cockpit. Two things I know; first, the situation could have turned out badly if not for Justin's clear headedness and second if I had suggested taking both the sheets off the jib under those conditions to anyone else particularly Captain Bob the communication would be short, intense and clear. To this day I don't know what I was thinking. We finished the race well ahead of the next boat in our class getting in 20 hours in front of them. We docked the boat, cleaned things up a bit, and some of us even sampled the rum in the boat beside us. That day was relatively quiet in Biloxi and went by quickly, however you could see that the storm was building again. After a short night's sleep we woke up to tropical storm Allison making landfall in Biloxi. There were 70 mile per hour winds pounding the hotel and several shrimp boats were washed up on the beach. The second boat in our class was still out in the bay trying to survive the storm, we were all glad to be on-shore with another race behind us. What always struck me was how calm Justin was under those conditions. Aside from being a fun guy to be around I always found Justin to be pleasant, respectful and mindful of other people even under difficult circumstances. That whole Biloxi experience made me wonder whether I had ever seen Justin be intentionally unpleasant to anyone. My memory is not perfect, but I really could not remember a situation where Justin was unpleasant, in fact he was always the opposite. Growing up Justin always treated my kids well even though they were a good bit younger than he was and for that I always appreciated him. From all of his friends at the memorial it was clear that Justin never met anyone he did not like and he really did live by the golden rule. That night on the Blue Norther, in very tough conditions I got to see what a fine young man Justin had become, I will miss him and I will never forget him.
Sam's Boat / Capitan Bob (Poppie)
Pirate Eye Tale No: 4 Sam's Boat (Evil Catholic School Girl)
Justin loved to go to Sam's Boat after work when he lived in Houston. Sam's Boat is a bar with nice would deck over looking a lake in Sugar Land. On one beautiful spring evening Pirate Eye, John Welsh and I met with Shawn Porsche and Lynda Drumm for a drink. Pirate Eye had never met Shawn before. Shawn is from New Orleans and was dressed in a sweater top with knee high pleated (black and gray) knee-high skirt. It was Jack Daniels night at Sam's Boat. If you ordered 10 shots of Jack Daniels you won a black Jack Daniels sleeveless top. Shawn liked the tight fitting black Jack Daniels top. So after the two round she order 10 shots of Jack Daniels, and promptly went into the bathroom to put on the sleeveless jersey with her knee high pleated skirt. The transformation got the notice of a lot of men around our table. Shawn then proceeds to polish off over 6 of the Jack Daniels shots. Pirate Eye commented that Shawn had transformed from the Catholic School Girl (sweater top and pleated knee high skirt), to the EVIL Catholic School Girl, with skintight top, pleated skirt and pushing shots of Jack Daniels. To this day Shawn is known as the EVIL Catholic School Girl. Thus is a tale of Pirate Eye. Close
Pirate Eye and his first mate Kelly often visited Kelly's parents Jim and Janet's home in Houston for some grog, fine food, and lodging. Janet runs a tight ship. Every thing sparkles in the kitchen and has a appropriate place.
Janet even likes to organize her spice cabinet in alphabetic order. Maybe a little anal but who can judge.
In effort to please his future mother-in-law Justin always liked to reorganize the spice cabinet before he left town. Just to spice up Janet's life.
Pirate Eye grew up in Alief Texas. The neighborhood of Braewood Glen was a subdivision full of first time homeowners, who were starting families. One of Justin's best friends was a Pakistani boy who lived three houses down the street. Manoj was a year older that Pirate Eye and about a foot taller and 50 pounds heavier. After school one day Manoj, who was in the third grade, and Justin, who was in second grade, were discussing their school day. Manoj told Pirate Eye that he had learned to write in cursive today, and proceed to write some sentences in cursive. Pirate Eye, who could always grasp the essence of a situation, began to print sentences on a piece of paper. Pirate Eye then informed Manoj, "This is how white people write".
I met Justin my junior year of high school when I had just moved to Sugar Land. The first few days at Clements were a little overwhelming...big school, no friends. Within a few days, my peer leader introduced me to Justin and his crew of buddies. He was easy-going and completely unpretentious. He welcomed me in without hesitation, and I always sincerely appreciated that. We had some crazy times in that red Ford Probe of his! Even though he would get a little wild sometimes, it always seemed as if he had one foot firmly anchored in reality, and I had a lot of respect for that. In a strange twist of fate, Justin and I would be tied long after we went our separate ways. By pure coincidence, he wound up being great friends with Adam Hatch, who was a good friend of mine when I lived in Austin. When I heard that they were friends, I knew that it would be a strong bond as both of them were great guys. Unfortunately, through the years I lost touch with Justin. Reading the tributes and seeing the photo gallery, I can see that my old friend filled his life with great people and great memories. Even though it's been years since we last spoke, I'll miss Justin Brindley.
#1 Tales of Justin " The Pirate Eye" Tick on the? / Capitan Bob (Dad)Read >>
#1 Tales of Justin " The Pirate Eye" Tick on the? / Capitan Bob (Dad)
Justin loved the outdoors and camping. One of Pirate Eyes first experience (when he was about 7) was weekend camping trip to West Texas Enchanted Rock State Park, with the Porter family. The 4 boys had a good time wilderness camping for two nights with Byron the Porter boys Father.
On the way home they stopped at Mc Donald's, and Justin ( Pirate Eye) noticed he had a tick on the end of his dick, which he proudly announced to us all on his arrival home.
Sure enough after inspection by his Mother, Sisters and me it was confirmed that he had a healthy tick growing right on the end. So Valerie consulted the medical manuals which prescribed an alcohol (rubbing) treatment for the tick. But that only irritated the delicate situation. Pirate Eye's mood was still good.
The next suggestion was to heat up a paper clip, which Valerie did and applied it to the tick on Justin's dick. But the little bugger just wouldn't let go. All the time Brittany, Kimberly and I are watching.
Justin's mood was still good but he was not thinking this was so funny anymore and could sense this was heading no where good.
So out comes the tweezers and Valerie grabbed on to that tick and pulled as hard as she could, with Brittany and Kimberly watching. I had to turn away. Pirate Eye let out a scream, and with a yank and twist the tick came loose.
Thinking of you and your family / Sara Colgin (Old childhood friend )Read >>
Thinking of you and your family / Sara Colgin (Old childhood friend )
My deepest sympathy to Justin's family and friends. It's been too long and I am so sorry I am just finding out about this tragic news. My thoughts and preyers are with you all. Justin's passion for life is forever imprinted in my memory.
All my love,
Sara Colgin Close
Condolances/ Lerryne Olsen (high school friend )Read >>
Condolances/ Lerryne Olsen (high school friend )
My deepest sympathy to the Brindley family & the Gallogly family. Kelly, my dear old friend, I love you & I'm so very sorry for your loss. Close
I couldn't have asked for a better friend to myself, my sister and my family. Our lives will never be the same but your memory will always live on in our household. You have once again left the trail for the rest of us to follow.
Heavens New Angel / Stephanie Palatka (16-Year Friend, High School-College(SMU) Sweetheart )Read >>
Heavens New Angel / Stephanie Palatka (16-Year Friend, High School-College(SMU) Sweetheart )
Justin,
Everyday since hearing of your passing I've opened this beautiful memorial page that your wonderful friend Nathan created and everytime, after wiping away the many tears from my eyes and catching my breathe from the overwhelming sadness that consumed me, I would close it and tell myself that I would write something tomorrow. Well today I've come to the realization that I just can't put into words the pain my heart feels and how broken I am on the inside. So instead I'll say this..."Thank you for 16 years of inspirational, exciting, loving, adventurous, unforgettable heartfelt memories. I promise I will ALWAYS remember you and do the best I can to live with as much enthusiasm, adventure and passion for my life as you made sure you did yours. This is not my way of saying goodbye to you, but instead...until we meet again in Heaven."
I Love You Always And Miss You Immensely,
Stephanie(Querida/Tatonkakook)
May you always walk in sunshine and God's love around you flow, for the happiness you gave us, no one will ever know. It broke our hearts to lose you, but you did not go alone. A part of us went with you, the day God called you home. A million times we've needed you. A million times we've cried. If love could only have saved you, you never would have died.
condolonces from italy.. / Andreas Manfredi (friend)Read >>
condolonces from italy.. / Andreas Manfredi (friend)
Unfortunately had not sean Justin for a long time.. but had the honor of becomming his friend during my stay at SMU. Now I am back in Italy and cannot believe what happened and want to send from the deapest of my heart condolences to all his family members and friends.. Justin thank you for everything.. Close
Justin was a great person and I consider myslef lucky to have been friends with him. He was always smiling, always positive, always ready to motivate and go do something fun. We had especially great times mountain biking at Water Dog Lake and China Camp, the work day went by so much better when I knew that I had my bike in the car ready to go as soon as I could get out, and Justin to laugh with when one of us would take a fall. Justin was a positive influence on everyone around him, with an uncommon ability to be laid back while intensely focused, and soft spoken while driven. To me, those are the qualities of someone with perspective and character, of someone who truly enjoys life. I am proud to have been friends with Justin, and I will celebrate the good times that we shared.
Good bye - I will always miss you / Colby Cress (Friend)Read >>
Good bye - I will always miss you / Colby Cress (Friend)
Justin,
I had to say good bye to you this past Friday. I feel very special to have known you for 30 years. I will never forget our adventures together as we grew up. No matter how much time we spent apart, I could always count on you picking up right where we left off. I know you are on a huge adventure right now. Try not to climb all the mountains, sail all the oceans, or explore all the land before we meet again.
Good bye little cat. I miss you and love you. See you again.
Although I haven't seen you much since college, I have only fond memories of you. Condolences to Kelly and your family, you are in our thoughts and prayers.
Tributes and Condolences
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